We talk to the Chicago-based roasting professional, who advances to compete at the World Coffee Roasting Championship in Houston in April.
BY CHRIS RYAN
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of Diego Guartan
Diego Guartan never expected to take part in coffee competitions.
In spring 2024, Diego was working at his job as head roaster at Chicago’s Big Shoulders Coffee when he encountered Eduardo Choza, who was in town for the U.S. Coffee Roasting Championship. Eduardo had asked Big Shoulders co-owner Tim Coonan if he could practice on the company’s Stronghold S7 machine—the same roaster used at the national competition—in advance of the event.
Diego and Eduardo struck up a friendship, and after Eduardo went on to win the 2024 championship, they stayed in touch. Wishing to see more Latinos take part in coffee competitions, Eduardo consistently urged Diego to try the roasting event. While Diego originally rebuffed the requests, he eventually softened and registered for the qualifying event last fall.
The rest, as they say is history: Diego finished fifth at the qualifying event, then swept through the U.S. Coffee Roasting Championship, which took place Feb. 6-9 in Houston, to become the 2025 U.S. Coffee Roasting Champion. He now advances to the World Coffee Roasting Championship, which will take place April 25-27 in Houston during the Specialty Coffee Expo.
We talked to Diego about deciding to enter the competition, his whirlwind experience, and more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Barista Magazine: I understand this was your first year competing. Why did you decide to do it?
Diego Guartan: When Eduardo was competing last year at the SCA Expo in Chicago, he was practicing here at Big Shoulders. I was asking him a lot of questions about the competition, and at some point he said to me, “Why don’t you compete?” And at first I said, “You’re crazy, I don’t think I can do it.” But he kept talking to me about it. When they opened registration for the qualifiers in Houston, Eduardo called me and said, “Please sign up.” He kept calling me, and eventually I said, “OK, let’s do it.” I called my daughter, and she logged in and signed me up. And I told Eduardo, “I want you to be my coach,” and he accepted.
You placed fifth at the qualifier in November 2024. How was the qualifier for you, and how did you then prepare for the nationals?
It was my first time competing, and I made a lot of mistakes, like with the roasting plan. I went back to Chicago before the competition was over. I watched the livestream, and when they got to number five and said “Diego Guartan,” I said, “Wow, I made it to the nationals!”
The day after the qualifier, I came to my boss at Big Shoulders and told him I made the nationals and I needed to start practicing more. I said, “I’m going to roast every day on the Stronghold,” and he said, “OK, do what you need to do.” I just roasted coffee on the Stronghold S7 and did cuppings every single day. Then we went to nationals, and I don’t know if I’m lucky, but I won.
What was the experience of winning like for you?
When they said they were going to call the top three competitors, they called Kevin (Seehousz) at third place and Joel (Lohner) at second place. And then they said, “2025 U.S. champion,” and they called my name. I lost my legs … I wasn’t even jumping, I was just sitting for maybe 5, 10 seconds. And they said, “Diego you won, go to the front!” I didn’t believe it! First year competing and win? It was a shock to me.
Are you excited for the world competition in Houston?
I’m excited and so nervous. Some friends and other U.S. competitors say I’m going to do good because I’ve roasted a lot of blends for the company, and roasting blends is a big part of the competition. I’m doing the same practicing I did for the nationals, and I hope I do well at the worlds.
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